For Love
by therealesther
Summary: Three years ago, he had daydreamed about hearing those words from Sakura's lips.


**Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Naruto.**

**For Love**

The words replayed in his mind over and over without ceasing.

"Because I love Naruto-kun!"

He had never heard those words before.

Ever.

Love.

Him.

She. Loved. Him.

_Loved_ him.

_She_ loved him.

She loved _him_.

She _loved_ him.

The words struck afresh with the same force every time he remembered them, leaving him stunned and bewildered, which was probably why he had found it nearly impossible to move from her bedside for the last six days.

All he seemed capable of was to sit, staring blankly at the floor between his knees, except for when the words took on a desperate tone in their endless repetition and he found himself moved to gaze at her where she lay, eyes closed and skin as white as paper.

This girl had faced an insanely powerful ninja, fully prepared to sacrifice herself; in order to save him. He had experienced similar situations twice before in his life. The first time had been Iruka Sensei who had taken a fuuma shuriken to the back in order to protect him. The reason? Because Iruka had not blamed him for being the Kyuubi and had called him a shinobi of the Leaf. Naruto could still remember the bewilderment he had felt, followed quickly by a flood of gratitude and affection that had been overwhelming.

The second time had been Sasuke. He still couldn't think of the name without experiencing turmoil of emotion. Carefully, Naruto shut out every thought of his best friend but the barest details of the incident in Wave Country. Haku, shooting the needles. Sasuke, getting in the way. Saving Naruto, the dead last, the idiot team mate, for no reason that he could explain.

"My body just moved on its own." "I saved you on a whim." Those had been his words, which had left Naruto more confused and conflicted than he had ever been in his life. Sasuke had a way of leaving him in that state a lot.

And now Hyuuga Hinata, a girl he had barely ever spoken to, had offered up her life for his.

But she had given a reason.

It was a pretty good reason, when he thought about it. After all, if _he _really loved somebody, he would be willing to give up his life for them too. It made complete sense. She was ready to die for him because she loved him. Perfectly reasonable.

So why did it feel like his brain had exploded and been replaced with cold ramen noodles?

_She loved him._

He just could not get his head around it.

Naruto shifted his gaze from the floor to her face. He couldn't remember ever really looking at her properly before, with a long, searching gaze up close and personal. She was quite pretty, he realised with another dim shock to what was left of his brain; the Hyuuga breeding produced lovely bone structure as well as the Byakugan. He noticed the way her black hair spilled out across the white pillow case. Funny, he remembered it had been quite short during the prelims of the chuunin exam. Why had she grown it out? Maybe her uptight dad had made her keep it short when she was younger. Naruto was seized with the sudden impulse to touch it.

The strands were thick and heavy, sliding through his fingers. They made him think of a dark and secret river, flowing swiftly, the opposite to Sakura's soft, fine cloud of short pink locks. He let them fall back onto the pillow case. Her face remained pale and still.

He wondered what her face had looked like when she had made her confession. He had been pinned to the ground at the time, and she had been facing Pein. Anger flashed through him, surprising him. He had not even been able to see her face, or watch her lips moving as they shaped those incredible words that had left him stunned and speechless.

_I love Naruto-kun._

Three years ago he had daydreamed about hearing those words from Sakura's lips. Three years ago he had sworn he would make Sasuke acknowledge him as a team mate and rival. Three years ago he had not known why people spat at him in the streets and forbade their children from playing with him. Three years ago he had thought toads were dumb, ugly and kind of gross.

Things changed.

And as Naruto gazed down into the pale face of the first person to ever declare their love for him, something else changed.

When Hinata's eyes finally, hesitantly fluttered open, the first thing she saw was Naruto's face above her, and when her stiff fingers twitched into movement, the first thing she felt was a strong, warm hand close over them, and squeeze gently. She tried to speak; her normally high-pitched voice came out in a husky rasp.

"Naruto-kun – I, I'm so glad you're ok."

At these words, Naruto's face crumpled and he choked out, "I'm glad you're ok too, Hinata-chan. You had me worried there for a few days."

Her pale eyes widened.

"A-a few _days_? Have you been here that long?"

He nodded. "I couldn't leave. I wanted to make sure you were alright."

Incredibly, a blush flooded her cheeks. She lowered her eyes.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun."

He shook his head.

"That's just what you do for people you, people you like – care about, people you care about," he stumbled over the words, and felt his face heating up. Carefully releasing her hand, he got to his feet. Her eyes widened in panic.

"Where are you going?"

He stood still and touched her hand reassuringly.

"I should really let a nurse know that you're awake now; you might need painkillers or something soon."

Hinata looked pleadingly at him.

"Naruto-kun, I can wait a while. Please, stay with me, just a bit longer."

He gazed down at her in wonder. This was the girl who been ready to die for him. This was the girl who loved him. This was now the girl who needed him by her side. This was _the_ girl and she _needed_ him. It was a wonderful feeling.

Naruto sat back down and took her hand again. Hinata closed her eyes for a moment and smiled.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Anytime," Naruto replied.

And he meant it.

_AN:This a response to a recent chapter in which Hinata made her long-awaited confession. I'm pretty sure I squealed fangirlishly for about 5 minutes straight while reading it. I realise that this fic has become AU since we've seen that Hinata is perfectly fine and conscious thanks to Sakura, but oh well. What did you think?_


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